What is the world's single-most
must-see place? A Road Warrior might know. I
didn't.
What is the one place on Earth that everyone should see? That, in a
nutshell, is a question I asked a few months back. The results are
in and the answer is …
But first, some stuff to keep you reading. Er, I mean, a little
background.
In last October's column, I published the Society of American
Travel Writers Top 10 "most memorable, must see, once-in-a-lifetime
destinations," as the society phrased it in typical hyperbolic
travel writer fashion. For those of you who didn't see it, here it
is again:
1. Grand Canyon, Arizona
2. Pyramids of Egypt
3. New York City
4. Paris
5. Great Wall of China
6. Venice
7. London
8. Taj Mahal, India
9. Machu Picchu, Peru
10. A visit to the land of your family's ancestors
The top draw … the Grand Canyon?
In the column, I related my first experience there, in which I
nearly froze and starved to death, but I was willing to let bygones
be bygones. I wrote: "I think the Grand Canyon is more than grand.
It's an Amazing Canyon. Phenomenal Canyon. Astonishing,
Spectacular, Extraordinary Canyon. And yet I don't know that I'd
list it as the number-one must-see destination in the world. Truth
is, I'm at a loss to name my all-time, essential spot."
So I asked readers to recommend their own Top 10.
Responses poured in at an inundating trickle. A crack team of top
statisticians then analyzed the results. Well, not a team, exactly.
Not a statistician, either, for that matter. My wife, OK? In any
event, they're counted.
And now they're to be revealed.